Kyogo Furuhashi bagged his 30th goal of the season Sunday as Celtic sealed their second successive Scottish Premiership title with a 2-0 win away to 10-man Hearts.
The Glasgow club, managed by former Yokohama F Marinos boss Ange Postecoglou, wrapped up the race with four games to spare and will aim to finish the season with a record points total and victory in the Scottish Cup final.
Furuhashi opened the scoring in the 67th minute after Reo Hatate's cross found him in front of goal.
"I thought a chance would definitely come. I'm really happy to have scored the opening goal in the title-clinching game," said Furuhashi, whose tally includes a league-best 24 goals in the Premiership.
"I always say it's thanks to my teammates' hard work, winning possession and going forward, that I can score goals like today. Reo got into space and gave me a really good ball that I only needed to touch in front of the keeper."
Hearts were controversially reduced to 10 men with defender Alex Cochrane's red card on the stroke of halftime, with a video review determining he denied Daizen Maeda a goal-scoring opportunity near the area.
Oh Hyeon Gyu added the visitors' second 10 minutes from the end after coming off the bench for Furuhashi, who has 50 goals for Celtic since transferring from Vissel Kobe in July 2021.
The milestone follows the disappointment of being left out of Japan's 2022 World Cup squad, which Furuhashi has turned into a source of motivation.
"Of course, it was very frustrating at the time, and it took me a long time to get over it, but at that moment, all my teammates reassured me and I felt they trusted me a lot," Furuhashi said. "That's why I felt I wanted to return the favor by getting results."
"A lot of things have happened, but they've all contributed to my growth. I'm improving my mentality and technical ability little by little."
Postecoglou, who guided Marinos to the 2019 J1 crown, said Furuhashi's consistent goal scoring was the hallmark of a "mentally strong" player with exceptional work ethic.
"I don't think there are many strikers who are prepared to work that hard without getting a touch of the ball, yet whenever he needs to be in the area, he is always there," the Australian tactician said. "His finishes are quality finishes. It's a credit to him."
The victory secured Celtic's 10th title in 11 seasons and they can claim a domestic treble if they beat Inverness in the Scottish Cup final on June 3. They can also reach a record 107-point total by winning the remainder of their league games.
"The treble is what we're aiming for as a team," Maeda said. "If we lose the cup final, everything we've done so far this season loses meaning, so I think it's a really important match."
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